Daily Archives: August 16, 2017

Ring of Terror
Directed by Clark L. Paylow
Written by Lewis Simeon
1962/France
Playstar Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental

 

[box] “True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.” ― Kurt Vonnegut Jr.[/box]

The poster gives away the only scare in this very bad movie.  It does not really matter since it is also telegraphed early in the film.

The story is framed by a dumb appearance by a cemetery custodian.  We find out all we really need to know about this movie when the first scare is created by his stepping on a cat’s tail – a scene dragged out to ridiculous lengths.  The main action concerns Lewis B. Moffat, a medical student, and hijinx at the college he attends.  His fate will be sealed by a hazing prank.

This movie fully deserves its 1.4/10 IMDb rating.  It contains much of the disconnected weird vibe of an Ed Wood movie but is much more boring.

Amazing trivia:  By the 1970’s, director Paylow managed to survive his shame and had became an assistant director and production manager, notably on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and The Conversation (1974).

Clip – the custodian looks for his cat

Vive le tour 
Directed by Louis Malle
Written by Louis Malle
1962/France
Nouvelles Editions de Films
First viewing/Netflix rental

 

[box] Ride your bike, ride your bike, ride your bike – Fausto Coppi, when a reporter asked him what it takes to become such a great champion.[/box]

I don’t even follow the Tour de France.  I found this documentary short totally charming.

First we meet the crowd.  It seems like the entire population of France is out to view the race.  Malle gives us many great faces from a wide swathe of society.  My favorite was the nun giving a rider the thumbs up.  He goes on to the carnival aspect of the event, complete with floats.

We move on to the riders.  First, we take care of their basic necessities from food to drink to urination.  It is a different time, when riders go into bars to raid them of champagne and beer, often without paying and the crowd offers its own provisions.  We end with the grueling race itself.

A cyclist’s loot.

I was surprised that doping was an issue even in 1962.  Then it appeared to be amphetamines, something the filmmakers inform us does not add strength but dulls pain. Several athletes are shown paying the consequences when they collapse from over-exertion.  And can you imagine a time when the crowd is allowed to physically push cyclists up hill?!

Malle makes every one of the eighteen minutes a delight.  If you have any interest at all in the Tour, I would say this is a must see. The complete film is available on YouTube and on FilmStruck.

Clip